Rotary Postgraduate Scholarship
The Rotary USC Community Fund (RUSCCF) was established in 1996-97 and first awarded in 2001 by the combined Rotary Clubs of the Sunshine Coast. Rotary Postgraduate Scholarships are awarded annually to students who have completed their undergraduate degree at UniSC and have enrolled and commenced postgraduate studies at either the Master or Doctorate levels at UniSC.
The RUSCCF Committee is made up of representatives from 17 Rotary clubs from Caloundra to Noosa. Each club is encouraged to make an annual contribution to the Fund at the RUSCCF Annual Joint Meeting and Dinner. To date, the combined clubs have contributed more than $220,000 to the Fund and have awarded 68 scholarships to UniSC students.
The Scholarships are valued at $4,500 each and three scholarships are awarded each year.
Rotary USC Community Fund Committee
Secretary: Mr Graham Barnes Chair: Mr Dan Thomasson
2023 Rotary Postgraduate Scholarship recipients
Ashley Williams
Ashley completed a Bachelor of Biomedical Science, majoring in biotechnology. Upon graduating in 2018, Ashley followed on to complete an Honours in Science, specializing in pharmacology. Since completing her studies at UniSC, Ashley has worked as a research assistant at the Compounds Australia facility at Griffith Institute for Drug Discovery and for the past 4 years has been contributing to research with the use of advanced high-throughput robotic platforms technologies.
The desire to pursue a career within her unwavering fascination on the topic of stem cells and regenerative medicine lead her to the research being conducted by Dr Georgia Kafer at UniSC and she has since commenced a PhD within the placentoid group.
Juliette Sauvage
Juliette commenced her PhD studies in 2023 after completing her Bachelor of Creative Industries (Honours) in 2022 at the University of the Sunshine Coast. Her creative writing research centres around a feminist analysis of mythology, and how modern retellings are revising the roles and representation of women in classical mythology; as a creative researcher, she looks at this from a practitioner’s perspective to analyse the elements of storytelling for women authors. Over the summer break, she also participated in a Summer Research Scholarship for the Australian Centre for Pacific Islands Research – ‘Women’s Soccer in Oceania Community Resource Development Project’ – developing community resources for Pacific Islands nations to promote community engagement around women’s football.
Grace Smith
Grace completed her Bachelor of Animal Ecology minoring in Climate Change and Coastal Zone studies in 2021 and went on to earn Honours in Science in 2022. Grace is now pursuing her PhD at the University of the Sunshine Coast where she is investigating genetic tracking methods to inform the conservation of cryptic and endangered species in southeast Queensland. Prior to her current research, Grace focused on gene silencing and transcriptomics related to reproduction in commercial aquaculture crustacean species. Her work in this area was recently published in the International Journal of Molecular Sciences and presented at both the Australian Marine Science Association conference and the International Crustacean Congress. In addition to her research, Grace is passionate about education around science and conservation. She is an active member of UniSC outreach group MindSET-do and teaches lessons on citizen science and robotics at local high schools. Grace aspires to become an educator herself, where she can encourage future generations to pursue careers in science.
Rotary Postgraduate Scholarship Alumni
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Charlotte Raven (Rotary Australia Centenary Scholarship)
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Lisa Musgrove
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Kirsty O'Callaghan
- Lisa Randall
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Thomas Banks
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Shannon Horsfall
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Thomas Lang
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Dylan Astley
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Aaron Brunton
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Cameron DeGraw
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Brittany Elliott
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Kaylene Ballard
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Elin Pollanen
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Andrew Allen
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Makeely Blandford
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Joanne Boon
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Luke Hawley
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Kaylet (Kye) McDonald
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Ryan Newis
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Lara Meital
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Gail Loader
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Rachele Wilson
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Alessandra Whaite
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Andrew Allen
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Marion Brown
- Karina Rune
- Daniel Meloncelli
- Bruce Randall
- Eva Hatje
- Benjamin Lane
- Lauren Simmons
- Jennifer Castell
- Corinna Burgen-Maunder
- Cathryn Morriss
- Michael Gardiner
- Danielle Formosa
- Jacob Turner
- Roslyn Clapperton
- Lee-anne Bye
- Clark Taylor
- Kate Fitzgerald
- Felicity Templeman
- Katie Sutter
- Jamila Rosdahl
- Nubia Ramos
- Wayne Graham
- Michael Powell
- Judy Wickes
- Vikki Shaffer
- Joanne Freeman
- Greg Nash
- Robert Lamont
- Luke Keioskie
- Vikki Schaffer
- Rachel James
- Stephen Tucker
- Gai Van Hees
- Maria Arena
- Wayne Graham
- Lindsay Cripps
- Craig Hansen
- Robert Glen
- David Walton
- Duncan Thompson
- Helen Ison
- Catherine Titheridge
Recognition of contributions
The following Clubs have been presented with plaques in recognition of their various levels of cumulative contributions to the Fund. The University is grateful for the long standing and generous support provided by all Rotary Clubs.
Sapphire
Cumulative contribution of $40,000
- Rotary Club of Mooloolaba
Platinum
Cumulative contribution of $20,000
- Rotary Club of Glasshouse Mountains
- Rotary Club of Nambour
- Rotary Club of Caloundra
Gold
Cumulative contribution of $10,000
- Rotary Club of Alexandra Headland
- Rotary Club of Buderim
- Rotary Club of Caloundra Pacific
- Rotary Club of Maleny
- Rotary Club of Noosa Daybreak
Silver
Cumulative contribution of $5,000
- Rotary Club of Maroochydore
- Rotary Club of Cooroy
Bronze
Cumulative contribution of $2,500
- Rotary Club of Nambour '76